STEPHEN FRINK (USA)

WULF H. KOEHLER (GERMANY)

As a scientist, engineer, inventor, dive instructor, pilot, photographer, journalist and writer, Wulf Koehler has dedicated a major part of his life to the sea by educating divers, instructing underwater photographers and manufacturing underwater camera housings.

BORIS POROTOV (KAZAKHSTAN, USSR)

DICK RUTKOWSKI (USA)

Dick Rutkowski helped popularize the use of nitrox among sport divers through the International Association of Nitrox Divers (IAND), which he founded and which later become International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD) under president Tom Mount.

As a French naval Lieutenant, Captain Philippe Tailliez introduced Midshipman Jacques Yves Cousteau to free diving at Le Mourillon in 1936. Tailliez coached Cousteau through spearfishing and two years later introduced him to Frederic Dumas.

DICK BONIN (USA)

KROV MENUHIN (AUSTRALIA)

Significant Career Achievement and/or Industry Contribution

International underwater filmmaker who filmed the first ever footage of a Blue whale underwater and is credited by the BBC and French television with a combined exposure of 300 million viewers worldwide.

BOB BARTH

The Dean of Saturation Divers and the most famous living USN diver. The only diver on the bottom on every USN project from Genesis to SEALAB III. Although those programs were for saturation diving, all excursions were done with scuba, some at over 600 feet.

RAMON BRAVO

During the early years of recreational scuba diving the number of world-class underwater film producers and cinematographers was very small. Ramon Bravo's international reputation for not only his motion pictures depicting marine life behavior but his syndicated television series is legend.

STUART COVE

Exposure in film, video and photography is important to recreational scuba diving; with more exposure, more people care about protecting the underwater world. Stuart Cove first got involved with the film industry in 1979, as the owner of Coral Harbor Divers in the Bahamas, working as a diver on the James Bond film, for Your Eyes Only. He began learning about the movie business, taught the cast and crew to dive, and even wrangled sharks for the film. The money he earned allowed him to buy his own boat, and continuing work eventually allowed him to create Stuart Cove’s Diving operation.

DR. JOE MACINNIS

Dr. Joe MacInnis is the first person to explore the ocean beneath the North Pole. Supported by the Canadian government, he led ten research expeditions under the Arctic Ocean to develop the systems and techniques to make scientific surveys beneath the polar ice cap. His teams built the first undersea polar station and discovered the world’s northernmost known shipwreck.

BILL HIGH

Bill High began diving in 1955 and has maintained a constant involvement with the many facets of underwater science, diver equipment, education and training. He has certified thousands of students into the scuba diving world since he became a NAUI Instructor in 1961.

DR. ALBERT JOSE JONES

For over 50 years, Dr. José Jones has been training people to Scuba Dive. He started his own club, the Underwater Adventure Seekers, in 1959, because he was finding that the existing clubs at the time were reluctant to admit and train potential black divers. Since then, he has been directly responsible for the development of many Dive clubs.

BILL ACKER

CHUCK NICKLIN

Sometime in the middle 1950’s the diving bug bit Chuck Nicklin. Living in San Diego CA, one of the premier US locations for the early diving industry, he became involved with early pioneers of diving living nearby, including Hall of Fame inductees Ron Church, Dr. Andreas Rechnitzer, and other diving notables.

DAN ORR

ALESE AND MORT PECHTER

Alese & Mort Pechter worked for many reaching out to the general public with their unique brand of photography and philosophy, creating awareness the beauty of the underwater world, and of recreational diving as a means to see that beauty.

NEAL WATSON

SAM DAVISON

Sam Davison was a US Marine that spent considerable time in the South Pacific during the Second World War. His time on the island of Guam changed his life and his underwater experiences in the oceans of Guam proved to be the driving force in his life.

GUY HARVEY

Dr. Guy Harvey is a unique blend of artist, scientist, diver, angler, conservationist and explorer, fiercely devoted to his family and his love of the sea. His childhood passion for the ocean and its living creatures not only inspired him to draw, but also fueled a burning interest that prompted a formal education in marine science.

BERT KILBRIDE

Herbert "Bert" Kilbride was born March 8, 1914 in Springfield MA. His Mother taught him to swim at an early age; in fact he couldn't remember a time he couldn't swim. His mother made him a dive mask when he was only 8 years.

ROLF SCHMIDT AND PETRA ROEGLIN

RIC AND DO CAMMICK

Ric and Do Cammick built the first diving resort in Fiji in 1974, near to what is still Fiji's signature dive site, Rainbow Reef. They also pioneered promotion of Fiji on the international market, using film showings at early film festivals, as well as print advertising.

CLIVE CUSSLER

Clive Cussler is a multi-faceted, prolific author of adventure fiction and non-fiction novels, undersea adventurer and explorer. He began writing in 1965 and published his first Dirk Pitt novel in 1973. His first non-fiction work, The Sea Hunters, was published in 1996 and earned him the first Doctor of Letters degree ever awarded by the State University of New York Maritime College in its 1213-year history.

RON KIPP

Ron Kipp left a prominent position with IBM in 1980 and relocated to the Cayman Islands to become the owner of Bob Soto's Diving, Ltd. He began a program of modernizing and promoting not only his business, but also the Cayman Islands. His company was recognised as one of the largest and leading diving companies in the Cayman Islands - which is regarded by many as the Number One Diving Destination in the world.

LESLIE LEANEY

Founder of The Journal of Diving History, CO - Founder Historical Diving Society U.S.A. Born in London, England, Leslie Leaney started diving in 1969 around the island of Singapore. He progressed through the BSAC system and became a scuba instructor, Club Expedition Director and eventually Diving Officer, for BSAC Special Branch in Singapore. During his two-and-a-half year tenure he trained several dozen divers and was responsible for the training curriculum of over a dozen instructors and over 70 active recreational divers.

KELLY TARLTON

Kelly Tarlton worked throughout his career to design an innovative marine aquarium four times larger than any other in the world. It is called Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World and it opened in 1985 in New Zealand. His concept has been emulated internationally and his innovative techniques, such as curving the acrylic tunnels are still used.

ARMAND AND JOANN ZIGAHN

Armand and JoAnn Zigahn - Thirty-six years ago Armand Zigahn (Zig) founded Beneath the Sea, the largest consumer oceans exposition, dive and travel show in America. JoAnn joined him 10 years later as President and implemented a children’s program called Ocean Pals, an international contest open to children from kindergarten through 12th grade.

HOWARD AND MICHELE HALL

Howard and Michele Hall are award-winning natural history filmmakers and photographers perhaps best known for their underwater IMAX films. As Director and Producer, respectively, their IMAX feature film credits include the IMAX3D feature Into the Deep; Island of the Sharks, Coral Reef Adventure (in which they are also featured on camera), Deep Sea 3D, and most recently the IMAX3D feature Under the Sea3D. Howard has been the underwater cinematographer and/or Director of Underwater Cinematography on 4 other IMAX features.

ANDRE LABAN

Andre Laban is a World-renowned French diver, photographer, author, and painter André Laban, was a pioneering member Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Calypso team, serving as chief engineer and diver. He developed early underwater cameras that were used in shooting The Silent World, which won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1956.

CLEMENT LEE

Clement Lee is a leader in the development of the recreational dive industry in the Malaysian state of Sabah. This dive industry pioneer started Borneo Divers over a quarter of a century ago and has introduced recreational diving and dive tourism in Sabah as well as resort management in Sipadan.

BEV MORGAN

Bev Morgan began free diving and surfing in 1949, a year after leaving high school and became a Los Angeles County lifeguard in 1952. That year, he purchased an early Aqua Lung scuba unit and founded the Los Angeles County Instructors program, which was the first scuba instructor's program available to the public. He also wrote the first Instruction manual that was based on the Scripps Institute program and also the Underwater Safety, a standard diving book of the 1950's.

ALLAN POWER

Allan Power has a vast knowledge of the President Coolidge; he is the man they call 'Mr President'. Nearly 40 years ago, Allan came to Santo on a salvage expedition and has remained to become the 'caretaker' of this magnificent underwater adventure.

DR. EUGENIE CLARK

Dr. Eugenie Clark is a world-renowned ichthyologist and authority on sharks. She is popularly known as the SHARK LADY. Born in New York City (1922), of Japanese descent, Eugenie was swimming before she was two and throughout her childhood her interest in sea creatures grew. By the 1940's she was well on her way to a groundbreaking career, despite the hostilities toward the Japanese and prevalent sexism during WWII. Among her many discoveries, Clark was the first person to develop a technique for making "test-tube" babies in female fish. She went on to become a world-famous scientist and pioneer in the field of scuba diving for research purposes.

NICK ICORN

Nick Icorn, has been called the "Keeper of the Flame" for preserving diving's illustrious history through his collection of sports diving gear. His diving career includes experience in numerous aspects of diving, including working as a design engineer with US Divers, Healthways, Cavalero, Airco Cryogenics, Sherwood Selpac, and Ocean Dynamics.

FRANCIS TORIBIONG

Growing up in Palau after the end of World War II, Francis was strongly influenced by the first divers who came to Palau to do salvage work. During the early 1960's, Francis helped divers salvage metals and met pioneer divers who came to Palau, including J.Y. Cousteau aboard the Calypso, leaving a great impression on young Francis who was determined to become a professional diver.

WYLAND

Marine life artist Wyland has earned the distinction as one of America's most unique creative influences and a leading advocate for marine resource conservation. An accomplished painter, sculptor, underwater explorer and educator, he has traveled the farthest reaches of the globe for more than twenty-five years, capturing the raw power and beauty of the aquatic universe.

KIMIUO AISEK

Kimiuo Aisek witnessed Operation Hailstone, the American attack on the Japanese Imperial Navy's Fourth Fleet at Truk Lagoon in 1944. He was only 17 years old, but was old enough to know that life would change forever. Kimiuo was a walking history of the battle and had a photographic memory of the Lagoon at the time of the attack. By the mid-1970s he had been diving in the lagoon for years, located many of the wrecks and had brought diving to Truk. His fame as a Dive-master was common knowledge.

GERI MURPHY

Geri Murphy began scuba diving in 1967 as a teenager in the freshwater quarries of Pennsylvania. In 1968, she became a certified diver and a member of two Pennsylvania dive clubs: C-Y Divers and the Main Line YMCA Divers.

HOWARD ROSENSTEIN

Howard Rosenstein grew up in Southern California and, as a child, was always at the beach. His first SCUBA experience as a teenager was cleaning pools, after which he was hooked and inevitably took his first certification course a few years later.

LARRY SMITH

He should have been born a fish, but instead Larry Smith was born a boy in East Texas and grew up into a man who loved the water. His larger-than-life personality will always be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to meet him and had the pleasure to dive with 'the world's greatest divemaster'.

CATHY CHURCH

As a child, Cathy Church was an avid biologist. She earned a BS in biology from the University of Michigan where she learned to SCUBA dive. She was studying marine biology at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine biology station in Monterey, California when she met Jim Church, a scuba diver who was pioneering underwater photography. Cathy wanted to document her underwater work and spent many dives with Jim exploring ways to use the Calypso camera and flashbulb systems with homemade accessories.

BOB HALSTEAD

As a teenager in England, Bob became fascinated by the underwater adventures of Hans and Lotte Hass. In 1968, armed with a University Degree in Physics/Mathematics and a Post-Grad. Certificate in Education, Bob departed England for a teaching post as Head of the Physics Department at Queen’s College Nassau, Bahamas where he immediately learned to dive, fell in love with diving adventure, and bought an underwater camera. In 1970 Bob became a NAUI instructor (# 2000) at Freeport, Grand Bahama.

DANIEL MERCIER

Born the 31st of May, 1931 in Clamart in the suburbs of Paris. In his youth he had an unrequited desire to navigate. During this period after the 11 WW it was difficult to realize his dream. At 20 years old, he left Paris for Switzerland, where he became interested in educating and animating youth, doing research on the different pedagogic educational methods.

DR. DREW RICHARDSON

Few people have had the influence on diving as has Dr. Drew Richardson, the President and Chief Operations Officer for PADI Worldwide. He is also Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Project AWARE Foundation, President of DSAT (Diving Science & Technology), President and COO of Emergency First Response Corporation and President of Current Publishing. Respected by competitors and peers alike, it is safe to say that Richardson has directly or indirectly shaped improved and broadened access to diver education for more than 10 million divers around the world.

RON STEVEN - ROGEST

Ron Steven is a burst of energy. His work enables him to meet a wide variety of people, and if someone doesn’t take well to his candid enthusiasm, he accepts it as a challenge to win them over. No one escapes his infectious personality and playful sense of humor, and most walk away feeling good about their contact with him.

RALPH ERICKSON

RODNEY FOX

Great White Shark attack victim, filmmaker and expedition leader RODNEY FOX was born in South Australia on 9th November 1940. He is happily married to Kay and they have three children Andrew, Lenore and Darren and 7 grandchildren.

CARL ROESSLER

DEWEY BERGMAN

Dewey Bergman led the way in researching, planning, organizing and operating top quality diving tours. Bergman was an early YMCA and NAUI (#202) Diving Instructor. As an underwater photographer, he has participated in diving and scientific expeditions to Tahiti, Europe, South America, Mexico, the Bahamas, Africa and Belize. His films, done independently and in cooperation with Bob Hollis and Al Giddings, have been shown national TV and underwater film festivals.

ERNIE BROOKS II

He is a noted photographer, educator and ambassador for the diving industry. Brooks has won international acclaim for his underwater photography and audio/visual presentations. His personal photo skills are considered outstanding. And his leadership of the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, is legendary.

ANDREAS B. RECHNITZER

He has given over 50 years of dedicated service to undersea vehicles, diving, ocean technology and ocean sciences. Andreas B. Rechnitzer was born on November 30, 1924, in the small farming community of Escondido, California (north of San Diego).

CAPT. DON STEWART

DICK ANDERSON

It is the way Anderson has shared them with the diving community that has made him unique. Best described as a witty, swashbuckling diver from the old school of adventure. Anderson has a rather unusual, but wonderfully healthy outlook on many aspects of diving. Just ask him his viewpoints on new, flashy diving equipment, fair weather divers, taking diving too seriously, or almost any other evolutionary change in diving.

KENDALL MCDONALD

Kendall McDonald’s highly significant contribution to the growth of the sport has particularly been in the field of communication. His enthusiasm for the underwater world, expressed in more than 30 books, numerous TV appearances and radio programs, and a multitude of by-lined articles for the world’s press, have spurred thousands of Britons to take up scuba diving.

CAPT. SPENCER SLATE

Born 29 Dec 47 and grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C. Learned to dive on his own without certification, inspired by watching Mike Nelson (Lloyd Bridges) in Sea Hunt on TV. At that time there were no dive stores around so Spencer carried newspapers to earn money to pay for his scuba gear, and dove mostly in rock quarries and lakes.

AKIRA TATEISHI

He is Editor/Publisher of several magazines and a leader in the diving community of Japan. For more than four decades, Akira Tateishi has helped focus Japanese and international attention on underwater photography through movies, television, magazines, and newspapers.

FRANK SCALLI

JOHN CRONIN

Born in Albany, New York in 1928. John J. Cronin has become one of the diving industry’s most prominent figures, with over 30 years of experience in bringing people into the activity of scuba diving as the founder and CEO of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). Cronin also served as President of the Board of Directors for the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA).

DAVID DOUBILET

David Doubilet was born on August 28, 1946, in New York City. He began snorkelling at the age of eight in the cold, green seas off the northern New Jersey coast. By the age of thirteen, he was taking black and white pictures above and below the sea with his first camera - a pre-war Leica. Parts of summer and winter vacations were spent at Small Hope Bay Lodge on Andros Island in the Bahamas. He worked as a diving guide and on days off would take his camera. Doubilet later spent several summers working as a diver and photographer for the Sandy Hook Marine Laboratories in New Jersey.

BOB HOLLIS

More than 25 years ago, Bob Hollis and a partner started a company known as Oceanic. They made camera housings, strobes, strobe housings and various U/W photo accessories, for a budding industry. The company known as Oceanic is aptly named: it is the result of one man’s love of the sea. Bob Hollis was born in Orland, California. His fascination with the ocean began when he was working in Standard Oil’s engineering services division while earning a degree in mechanical engineering.

IVAN TORS

Known as the man who created Sea Hunt. Ivan launched his career in filmmaking during the early 1940’s with his first story ‘Below the Deadline’ continuing with films shot above the waterline until 1958 when he pioneered underwater cinematography with Underwater Warrior. This opened the door to the 1958 classic TV series “Sea Hunt” starring Lloyd Bridges, paving the way for future innovations in underwater cinematography.

PAUL TZIMOULIS

Tzimoulis became Eastern Sales representative and Associate Editor in 1964. In 1966, at the age of 29, Paul was named Editor/Publisher of Skin Diver. For many years he guided Skin Diver during its largest growth period, with many publishing innovations and contributions to diving.

LLOYD BRIDGES

Lloyd Bridges was an accomplished actor of stage and screen (including “High Noon,” “A Walk In The Sun” and “The Rainmaker”), and becoming one of Hollywood’s busiest actors with such live TV drama as “Alcoa Hour,” “Climax,” “Playhouse 90,” and “U.S. Steel Hour.”

JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU

A 1930 graduate of the Naval School, Jacques-Yves Cousteau left the French Navy in 1957 with the rank of corvette captain after having organized, with Philippe Tailliez, the French Navy’s underwater study and research group.

BEN CROPP

ELLIS ROYAL (E.R.) CROSS

Starting his career in the United States Navy in 1947, Cross became owner and operator of the Sparling School of Deep Sea Diving in California, where he trained many commercial, open sea, research and other specialty divers. He also instructed many diving clubs and groups in safe diving procedures.

SYLVIA EARL, PH. D.

She holds degrees from Florida State University, and Duke University, and was a Radcliffe Institute Scholar, a Research Fellow at Harvard University, and Research Associate at the University of California, Berkeley.

BERNARD EATON

In 1962, Peter Small, co-founder of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) and the principal organizer of the Congress invited Eaton to help publicize the Second World Congress of Underwater Activities in London. Shortly afterwards, Small invited Eaton to become his partner in a venture to turn the BSAC’s magazine, Triton, into a meaningful diving publication for open market sale. In 1963, Eaton took over full control of Triton, after Peter Small’s untimely death in December of 1962.

EMILE GAGNAN

Emile Gagnan was born in France and after graduating from technical school, went to work as an engineer for a large gas-supply firm. Gagnan was a prolific inventor and had developed everything from mechanical razors to butane regulators for automotive fuel systems.

AL GIDDINGS

HANS AND LOTTE HASS

Hans was fascinated with the underwater world he saw through his first goggles, and decided that he wanted to devote his life to studying it. Hans took his first underwater photos while free diving in Dalmatia in 1938; his first book “Hunting Underwater” was published the following year.

JACK MCKENNY

BOB SOTO

The Cayman Islands are recognised as the birthplace of Caribbean recreational diving, world-wide, a historic event that is attributed to Bob Soto, who established the Caribbean’s first dive operation on Grand Cayman in 1957.

RON AND VALERIE TAYLOR

Born in Sydney, Australia, Ron and Valerie Taylor began diving in the 1950s. Both became Australian spearfishing champions and Ron a world spearfishing champion, then turning from hunting to marine conservation.

ALBERT TILLMAN

GUSTAV DALLA VALLE

Gustav Dalla Valle was born in Northern Italy. Fascinated by the sea, he started to free dive in the Mediterranean Sea in his youth. A citizen of the world, he loved to travel and pioneered diving tourism in Haiti. Representing the Cressi-line of diving equipment, he joined Dick Klein’s Healthways, helping to stimulate interest in championship spear fishing. Gustav was responsible for placing the “Christ of the Abyss” statue on the reefs of the Florida Keys.